Great actors often give different interpretations of the same scene in a film each time they act in it. Take Kamal Haasan and Aamir Khan, for instance, who have worked with Lokesh Kanagaraj on 2022's Vikram and the upcoming film Coolie, respectively. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India for Coolie, Lokesh said that Kamal and Aamir have similar approaches to acting. "With Kamal sir, if you just ask for a shot and he performs it. And, if you go for corrections, he comes with another one (and so on). You will get confused which one you like the most." The filmmaker went on to add, "You just fix on one thing and if you want little improvisation, you just need to show them what actually they did and you are just looking for that part which has to be improved a little, not the different thing from what they have previously done."

Lokesh revealed that Aamir would also do the same. He explained that both actors would seek retakes even when he okayed a particular shot. According to the filmmaker, they would feel that the director gave his approval to it just to make them comfortable. "Is this guy really satisfied or is he just trying to make us comfortable saying OK?" said Lokesh.

However, Lokesh seems to operate with a clear vision of the films he makes even as he enjoys watching these actors go about their crafts in their respective ways. "We all love watching them perform," he said, while adding, "but we will mark what exact take we want."

The conversation brought back memories of Prithviraj Sukumaran working with Mohanlal on 2019's Lucifer.

Coming back to Coolie, the film also stars Sathyaraj, Shruti Haasan, Soubin Shahir, Upendra, and Nagarjuna, among others. The film is slated for an August 14 release. It also has Aamir and Pooja Hegde in cameo roles. Meanwhile, Lokesh is set to collaborate with Aamir on a superhero film.